Nui's Space offers Camp Amped for future rock stars

In the regular world, there's the kind of summer camp with swimming, canoeing and horseback riding, all sunshiny with birds singing and flowers blowing in the quiet, gentle breeze.

But in the rock world, there's Camp Amped, where the volume's cranked up to 10, and where guitars, drums and bass rip through monster rock 'n' roll songs.

Welcome to Camp Amped, a new project of Nui's Space, the Athens' musician's resource center. For two weeks, the space has played host to 26 young musicians, ages 11 to 18, mining their talents and teaching them to rock.

The camp started July 16 and concludes tonight, when the five bands that formed over the two-week period will play for family and friends - and the public - in a show that's likely to be the first of many in the Camp Amped-ers young careers.

The idea for Camp Amped started about four and a half years ago, says Nui's Space executive director Bob Sleppy, standing on the outdoor porch, where campers are taking their 11 a.m. snack break but can barely stop their music-making - drumsticks tapping out beats on tables and knees. "They can't play enough," Sleppy says with a hint of pride. "I'm not sure I could play eight hours a day for two weeks straight."

"But they gobble down lunch in like 20 minutes so they can get right back to playing," adds drum instructor Marlon Patton. "They get so excited when they get to play - one kid said he loved this so much more than video games."

It shows. As the first week concludes, there's an energy running through the group that's palpable.

"I love it here," says 14-year-old Davonte Appleby, a grin spreading across his face. Moments later, he and his group are inside on the Nui's Space stage breaking into OutKast's "I Like the Way You Move."

"The main point of it all is to help kids find a voice," says Sleppy. "Age 11 to 18 can be a really tough time, and music is a great language to use to find a voice, and help you make your way through life."

Behind the doors of Nui's four rehearsal rooms, young musicians are definitely finding a voice.

In one, a quartet of teens are bumping and thumping as they play the Beastie Boys' "Sabotage." In another, a quartet plays a song they've come up with this week, sort of by chance, says keyboardist Deylah McCarty, 16.

And in another room, acclaimed Athens guitarist Dan Nettles, who's spent several summers in Canada at workshops himself working with jazz greats such as Bill Frisell and Dave Douglas, jots down chord progressions on the dry-erase board as his group learns a song by Audioslave.

The 26 campers have been divvied up into five "ensembles" by the camp's instructors, who are culled from the Athens music scene.

In the morning, all the campers gather with Lindberg, who loosens them up with movement exercises, including Qigong, a Chinese technique using breathing and movement.

It's something he shares in part to help them focus, but also for the physical form; he says one of the main reasons he began the work was to help with tendinitis.

"I've been really amazed with the group and how well they've been able to focus," he says. "Part of this is about how to get out of their heads and into their bodies, and be present in the space ... and get ready to be creative."

The day progresses with a group lesson for individual instruments followed in the afternoon by ensemble rehearsals and then private lessons, group lessons or visits from professional musicians, among them Bruce Burch from the University of Georgia's Music Business Program. The group also took a field trip to the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in Macon.

For Nui's Space staff, though, as much fun as playing music is, it's also an important learning tool in life.

Founded for Nui Phillips, a young musician who committed suicide in 1996 after suffering from years of depression, Nui's Space's mission is dedicated to the mental well-being of its musicians.

"When you're ... frustrated or angry, a great way to get through that is through music," says Sleppy.

He's also happy to say that generous donations for Camp Amped helped pay for full or partial scholarships for 60 percent of the campers.

"A couple in San Francisco heard about us at a Drive-By Truckers concert and decided they wanted to help us," he says. "So we feel really great about this first year and want to continue having the camp every year."

Camp Amped is, he says, a way to continue Athens' musical legacy, as musicians today pass the craft on to the next generation.

They go through the motions of the instruments like proud parents watching a school performance, helping sing or keep the beat - beaming all the while.

"I think the coolest part about this is that these kids all live within about 20 miles of each other, so who knows what'll happen," notes guitar instructor Zac Taylor. "... Hopefully they're forming relationships here that will blossom into something great."

Featuring performances by the five bands formed during the two-week session (see info below)

When: Tonight at 6

Where: Nui's Space, 396 Oconee St.

Cost: Free, donations accepted

Call: (706) 227-1515

Details: Camp Amped participants came up with their own band names for tonight's show. They include 706, Black Shade, Magamuffinz, Katie and Corporate Resistance. They'll be performing originals, written during the camp, and covers such as "Killing in the Name" by Rage Against the Machine, Nirvana's "Love Buzz," "Sabotage" by the Beastie Boys, "Rehab" by Amy Winehouse and "I Like the Way You Move" by OutKast.